Friday, March 7, 2014

WILD BONE by Julie Ramsey

Julie and David Ramsey


Hello my fellow readers, reviewers and authors. My name is Julie Ramsey. My 1st Novella was just released on Feb. 13th 2014. The Wild Bone: The White Alpha of Monroe is something I had always wanted to do. I have been a reviewer for years and run a successful review site called Julies Book Review (juliesbookreview.blogspot.com).  As a reviewer I love books of almost every genre. My soft spot has always been paranormal romance. Some of the authors that have influenced me over the years, Christine Feehan, JR Ward, Suzanne Wright, Carrie Ann Ryan, and Katie MacAlister just to name a few. I am currently back in school working toward my BA. It was in a creative writing class that Sally and the Monroe pack came to me. I couldn't use the piece for class but I set it aside and came back to it. The paper then became The Wild Bone: The White Alpha of Monroe.  I have had lots of good reviews so far and I am excited about the possibilities this book brings. For the future I am working on book 2. I am hoping to have it out with in the next couple of months. Also I have 2 kids books that should be out this year as well under the name J.J. Ramsey. So please let people know about The Wild Bone: The White Alpha of Monroe. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thanks,
Julie Ramsey





More info:
It is on sale at Amazon for .99 cents.
When Sally's mother dies, she is left with no family. Her two best friends Hector and Cathy decide to take her out to the new bar in town, The Wild Bone, to get her out of the house. The night doesn't turn out how they imagine. Sally's mother kept a secret that is about to come to light. The secret holds the trio's future. 2 men both werewolves are about to change Sally's life forever. One will be her future and bring out what has been hidden from her. One wants to steal her future to gain the power of the Monroe pack. Will Sally and her friends survive the turmoil to come? 
Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Wild-Bone-White-Monroe-ebook/dp/B00IFD8O3E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393121404&sr=8-1&keywords=the+wild+bone+by+julie+ramsey
Movie link: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1plNXAgQnVo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Excerpt: 
       The night was so peaceful. The breeze was cool on my skin. I sat on the little porch and sipped my tea. I had sweats and a sleeveless t-shirt on, relaxing, looking into the stars. I almost missed the shadow by my neighbor’s house.  I kept a bat by me just in case, when I was outside for protection. I am inexperienced in relationships, but I knew how to defend myself. So I set my tea down and pick up my bat, and snuck around the house. I was going to find out who was watching me. Bat up high, I peak around the corner. I don’t see anyone. Oh, I know I saw a shadow. My bat is still held high as I walk around to the front. That is when someone taps me on the shoulder. “OH MY GOSH”I scream, and I swing the bat. I hit somebody. No way was it a person. Whatever I hit, it went down like a ton of bricks and my arms were reverberating. It felt like I hit a steel pole. I look at the ground and sure as heck, it is the tattooed man. You…..What the heck are you doing sneaking around here, I could have killed you.

 He groaned, “I doubt that, but I am going to have a heck of a headache. You know that is twice now you have hit me.” He was on the ground and smiling up at me.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Interview with Author Darlene Blasing



Darlene Blasing
West Michigan – beautiful in winter and heaven in summer.
I grew up here and moved to Cincinnati, Ohio in the late 70’s where I lived for twenty-five years. I returned to Michigan in 2002 and I’m happy to be back by the big lake.


Good morning, Darlene and welcome to Vision and Verse, the Place for Art and Authors.  What have you written?
My novella BARGAIN PARADISE is currently available as an e-book. It’s the humorous tale of an obsessive gardener and her neglected husband, a story for those who love to dabble in the dirt and others who wonder at the obsessive qualities the activity inspires.
Anyone interested can purchase it through the publisher at http://argonpress.com/.

Sounds like my kind of book.  I love gardening and my garden.  What is your favorite genre to write?
Humor, historical fiction and mystery are the genres I enjoy reading and writing.

Favorite food.
I would have to say chocolate is my favorite food. A little bit is good for you, you know. LOL

Absolutely!  I love chocolate  It is a for group.  Tea or coffee?
I love chai tea.

Pizza or ice cream?
I can’t eat either one. I have sensitivity to wheat, yeast, tomatoes and milk, among other things.

Where would you like to visit?
I would like to see Ireland one day since some of my ancestors came from there. It’s such a lovely green land in the pictures I’ve seen that I wouldn’t be surprised if my love of the color is due to an innate memory of the place.

Favorite musical artist.  
I like so many different artists and types of music that it would be difficult to single anyone out. I was listening to a CD of John Denver’s greatest hits last night. He was a wonderful songwriter. Jimmie Spheeris is one of my all time favorite singer/songwriters. Pavarotti’s voice and his ability to sing from his heart led me to love opera. Cecilia Bartoli has a beautiful voice. Vladimir Horowitz was an incomparable pianist. Of Eastern musicians, Ali Akbar Khan is my favorite. It’s their ability to touch my heart that sets them apart.

Do you listen to music when you write? 
No, I prefer silence while I’m writing.

Me, too.  What makes you laugh?
Most often, the antics of children and cats tickle my funny bone.

How old were you when you started writing?
I was eleven-years-old when a teacher began encouraging me to write. I’ve been a reader since age four, fascinated by others’ stories, so it was a natural progression to begin writing my own. It wasn’t until I joined the Cincinnati Writers Project (CWP) in 2001 that I thought about publishing. A few previously published short stories and articles can be found on my website at http://darleneblasing.com/stories-articles/.

Describe your perfect evening.
An evening with my friend Don is always a perfect evening.

Where do you get your inspiration?
People inspire many of my funnier stories. Several friends and family members who saw my gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio were bitten by the gardening bug with beautiful results. One woman in particular was the inspiration for Bargain Paradise.
On the other hand, some stories are inspired by events that trouble me. That’s the case with the novel I’m currently working on, Death by Cold Steel. One house I owned in Cincinnati was near railroad tracks. A neighbor told me her cousin died on those tracks decades before. The family thought he was murdered, but it was ruled a suicide. Death by Cold Steel is my way of imagining what might have happened to that young man.
Incidentally, the breath-taking cover photo for that novel was shot by David Wendt, who lived a few blocks from me at the time. You can see it on the home page of my website. http://darleneblasing.com/.

What do you do when you get a writer's block?
I’ve had so little time to write the past few years that words pile up, waiting to be released onto paper. I have ideas for historical novels that will require months of research. When I retire next year and have more time to devote to writing, I expect the words will come pouring out as they did in the past when I wasn’t working.

Who is your favorite author?
There are so many great authors of the past that I’d better stick to contemporary writers. I still find it impossible to choose only one. For historical fiction, Sena Jeter Naslund and Charles Frazier are exceptional. For her sense of humor and understanding of human nature, I like Haywood Smith.

Best book you ever read.
I read Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings when I was in high school. I liked it so much I spread the reading out over three years so I could savor it (or savour it, as they say in the UK). I read many other books at that time, but the Ring Trilogy was my favorite.
Peter Matthiessen’s The Snow Leopard is my favorite non-fiction work.

Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why?
My father was my greatest influence. He was a very good man: kind, generous, hard working and fair minded in his dealings with others. He was an avid reader, too, just like me.

If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?
I was asked that question by a college professor many years ago. My answer is still the same. I would love to have a conversation with Jesus. In spite of the research I’ve done, I feel that I know too little about him.

What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?

Find a group of accomplished writers who are willing to critique your work and help you improve. Listen to their advice, but know that ultimately you are the best judge of what you want to say.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

WHAT'S UP WEDNESDAY MARCH 5, 2014



 
 

 

 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


SCOTT WADE:  DIRTY CAR ART
 
 
I first became aware of Scott Wade and his amazing talent while watching a program on the History Channel.  Wade is a Texas artist whose curious art form will astound you.
 
Scott Wade lives in rural Texas, down a long dirt road.  Actually, the road is made of limestone and clay gravel and driving on it creates a huge cloud of dust....dust that adheres to car windows.
 
Most of us, when we see a dirty car, are tempted to use our fingers to leave the owner a little reminder that the car needs washed.  But Scott Wade's artistic genius and creativity made him go much farther.  He recognized the potential to create beautiful works of art in the dust.
 
Using his hands and brushes he deftly creates stunningly detailed and shadowed drawings on car windows.  What he once considered a hobby has now become known nationally and internationally as "DIRTY CAR ART".
 
Featured above are just a few of his awesome works.  Check out these websites below to see more of Scott Wades art.
 
 
 
Images above from Yahoo.com.  













Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Interview with Author Julie Ramsey


Julie Ramsey
with husband Dave
I was born in San Diego, California,
but was raised in Monroe, Mi.



Good morning, Julie.  Welcome to Vision and Verse, the Place for Art and Authors.  We're thrilled to have you with us today.  Tell us a little about what have you written. 
My first book came out on Feb 13th 2014   The Wild Bone: The white Alpha of Monroe.   But I have 3 More at least coming out this year. One maybe two in the White Alpha series and 2 children’s books

Wow, that's great! What is your favorite genre to write? 
By far Paranormal Romance

Favorite food.  
Thai Chicken Salad from Panera could eat it everyday

I'll try it.  I'm going there for lunch!  Tea or coffee?
Tea but I like coffee, too.

Pizza or ice cream?
Pizza

Where would you like to visit? 
San Diego to see where I was born.

Favorite musical artist.  Do you listen to music when you write?  What?  
I like music, Katie Perry and that genre are my favorite but no I cannot listen to music when I write. I get too distracted.

What makes you laugh? 
If you have every read Katie Macalister’s books. That is the humor I LOVE.  I don’t like the raunchy humor. I love a good dirty joke but it has to be tasteful done. More situational humor.

How old were you when you started writing? 
I wrote when I was a kid but nothing very serious. My love of reading didn’t really start until I was an adult. I read Ender’s Game and fell in love with Sci-fi. I then found Christine Feehan’s Dark series and fell for paranormal Romance.

Describe your perfect evening. 
Great dinner, Movie, and being with my family. Maybe a little reading in there too.

Where do you get your inspiration? 
The story of the Monroe Pack can to me when I was writing a paper for school. I am currently working toward my BA and was in a creative writing class. It was too long for the paper but I went back to it and kept on going with the story I had started. It became The Wild Bone. I have now fallen in love with the characters and want to get there stories down for others to read. So far I have had some really great reviews.

What do you do when you get a writer's block? 
I have to stop and to back to it later.

Who is your favorite author? 
I have many but some that I try to stay current on are JR Ward, Christine Feehan, Katie Macalister, Suzanne Wright, Lorraine Nelson, Eve Langlais, Carrie Ann Ryan

Best book you ever read. 
It is the best Book because I was so emotionally invested. I laughed, cried, rejoiced, cussed out and everything in between.  Archeron by Sherrilyn Kenyon.

I'll have to add that one to my list.  Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why? 
That is a hard one. My father for getting me to read Ender’s game in the first place. My husband for pushing me. My sister and my mom who always believed in me.

If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?
My sister. She was killed is a bad car accident this past July. I would love to sit down and be able to talk to her one last time.


What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer? 
If it your dream to write keep at it.